REVIEW: Third Eye Blind saves awkward show with ending at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks

Third Eye Blind

Photos by Brian Hineline/Special to The Morning Call

Third Eye Blind at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks Photos by Brian Hineline/Special to The Morning Call

Third Eye Blind at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks Photos by Brian Hineline/Special to The Morning Call (Photos by Brian Hineline/Special to The Morning Call)

What made Third Eye Blind's show at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks in Bethlehem so awkward?

By Jessyca PachecoSpecial to The Morning Call

For a band that’s been around for 20 years, Third Eye Blind made some pretty basic blunders in its concert Friday at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks in Bethlehem, which closed the venue’s first paid concert series.

It also was pretty presumptuous for a band that hasn’t had a hit in 14 years – and only one this century.

It started with the fact that the band waited 30 minutes past the appointed start of the concert to take the stage.

It worsened when, during the first song, "Faster," singer Stephan Jenkins—a week shy of his 50th birthday – slipped into the sexual R&B hit "My Pony" by Ginuwine, gyrating his hips as if he could walk on water while screeching out the lyrics.

Third Eye Blind

Photos by BRIAN HINELINE/Special to The Mornin Call

Third Eye Blind at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks Photos by BRIAN HINELINE/Special to The Mornin Call

Third Eye Blind at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks Photos by BRIAN HINELINE/Special to The Mornin Call (Photos by BRIAN HINELINE/Special to The Mornin Call)

When he held the mic out to the crowd of 2,414 to sing the chorus, nobody did.

The band played one of its biggest hits, "Never Let You Go," as the second song, but followed that with "Can You Take Me," Jenkins’ vocals seeming harsh and lackluster. It was not the band most of the 20- and 30-somethin crowd remembered, and fans appeared to filter out with every song.

When, a quarter of the way into the show, Jenkins started talking about Third Eye Blind almost being done with a new album – which would be its first in more than four years an only second since the 1990s -- it seemed not as if he was hyping new songs, but as if he had low self esteem and wanted the crowd's approval.

Third Eye Blind

Photo by BRIAN HINELINE/Special to The Morning Call

Third Eye Blind at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks Photo by BRIAN HINELINE/Special to The Morning Call

Third Eye Blind at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks Photo by BRIAN HINELINE/Special to The Morning Call (Photo by BRIAN HINELINE/Special to The Morning Call)

The hit "Graduate" seemed to get the audience excited, but Jenkins followed that by asking the crowd if he could play a new song. And even after he got a cheered response of "yes," Jenkins continued to ask.

"All I Want (Dopamine)" sounded not like the band’s old stuff, but more pop-punky – as if an effort to sound current instead of staying true to its sound. And immediately afterward, Jenkins asked if the crowd liked it.

It was all very awkward – making Third Eye Blind seem more like a local band lacking in confidence.

The show got better at the end. "Losing a Whole Year" segued into a cover of The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back," with Jenkins singing a Michael Jackson-esque falsetto and the band playing exquisitely with a baby grand piano.

It was at that point that Jenkins vocals transitioned from mediocre to closer to what fans remembered.

The band continued with "Water Landing" off the “Ursa Major” album. Jenkins said it was his favorite to play, and drummer Brad Hargreaves, the band’s only other original member , added a cool solo.